As online and remote educational, business, and other experiences become more prevalent, students, teachers, business people, and others are streaming video and communicating online using virtual classrooms, virtual offices, and other virtual spaces. In theory, this can allow education, business meetings, or any other meetings, to be conducted from many locations, such as in a teacher's or student's home, a business person's home or other location. However, where specific classes or meetings require students or others to work together in teams, groups or to otherwise participate in activities at the same time, the use of two-way online video and audio transmission can introduce multiple distractions, due to, inter alia, the background environment for the different participants being introduced to the shared online experience.
Further, this can raise privacy concerns for participants. In order to preserve privacy, for example student and teacher privacy, many remote programs often require participant's, such as students and teachers, to travel to specific locations, such as a classroom or office at a satellite location, to conduct the teaching or attend a class or meeting. This required travel removes some advantages of online and distance education and other meetings.
Similarly, while isolated study areas, such as carrels, have long been used in educational settings, or offices housing desks and office furniture in the case of business people, carrels, desks and office furniture are typically large and permanent installations that are inappropriate for use in a home, due to the dedicated space required and the expense of the furniture.
A system or method that allowed for privacy and uniformity while participating in online or distance meetings from a home setting would be an improvement in the art. Such a system or method that is relatively inexpensive, flexible for use with different technologies and does not require dedicated space in a user's home would be a further improvement in the art.